DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai has criticized Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu’s call for Tamil Nadu’s engineers and entrepreneurs to learn Hindi. Annadurai questioned why students in the state should prioritize Hindi for business needs, stating that companies should train their own staff instead.
In a post on X, Annadurai argued that if language skills were a concern, the Union Government should instead ensure basic English proficiency across India. He also accused Vembu of assuming superiority over others in his stance.
Vembu Calls Hindi a Business Advantage
Vembu defended his stance, calling the lack of Hindi proficiency a “serious handicap” for Tamil Nadu’s engineers. He highlighted that many of Zoho’s employees work with clients from Hindi-speaking regions like Delhi, Mumbai, and Gujarat, and communication barriers often arise.
He shared his own journey of learning Hindi over the past five years and urged Tamil Nadu’s entrepreneurs to embrace the language for business growth. According to him, as India’s economy expands, knowing Hindi would be beneficial for professionals in the state.
Debate on Language Politics
Vembu’s comments have reignited the long-standing language debate in Tamil Nadu. Many argue that English remains the global business language and that Hindi should not be imposed. The discussion also comes amid opposition to the Centre’s three-language policy, which the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government sees as an attempt to enforce Hindi on the state.
